9x18 If You Love It So Much, Why Don't You Marionette?

[9.5/10] Hilarious episode. It’s another usual split with Louise and her siblings in the A-story, and Bob/Linda/Teddy in the B-story. Both stories are funny and sweet in their own way.

I particularly like the message of the A-story. The opening scene signifies how Louise is worried about losing the spark of imagination and fun. The trip to the marionette-odium is a great way to dramatize that. The old lady who runs it having lost her own such spark, and giving up on fanciful puppet in favor of dull marionettes and mad libs is a nice “worst case scenario” for Louise to encounter. The way the puppet dance battle both awakens something in the old lady, and reassures Louise that adulthood doesn't have to be letting go of that imaginative spark, is really nice.

But it’s also just a damn funny episode. Louise’s interactions with Dot in the Tech Booth, and her mundanely-named beats, is great. The usual Wagstaff Greek Chorus is in rare form. And the old woman’s complaint that “kids just keep getting worse and worse, but people keep making them” is a hilarious bit of the over the top cynicism. Everyone’s reactions to the puppet doldrums, and the ensuing silliness of Louise’s one-man puppet revolution is superb. Hell, even Ron gets in on the action!

The B-story was a lot of fun too. Bob interacting with the local weirdos is always a good recipe for comedy. And the way he gets so into delivering the rave flyers to people is trademark Bob. Plus all the secondhand stories about “carrot the ferret” are a nice bit of the show’s oddball humor. Bob using the situation to inconvenience Jimmy Pesto is a good button to put on the whole thing.

Overall, every part of this one works, and there’s a simple but deep message behind that matches the hilarity with insight in the best Bob’s Burgers way.